Set upon a journey through marked and unmarked graves around Greece, where missing refugees have been buried. The story of Fereshta, an Afghan woman who survived a deadly shipwreck, unfolds as she relays the situation for thousands of refugees searching for lost loved ones in Europe.

Directed by:
SAID REZA HOSSINI ADIB
DOUGLAS HERMAN

Original Score by
EAMON KELLY

Executive Producer:
SONIA NANDZIK-HERMAN
DOUGLAS HERMAN

a co-production of:
ReFOCUS Media Labs
Minority Rights Group International

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How can asylum seekers tell their own stories? How can they counter damaging images chosen out of context by international editors? How can refugees help shape political discussions in Europe?  A meta-experience, the film follows a refugee filmmaking collective as they plan to make a film about their own situation following the fires that destroyed the infamous Moria refugee camp on Lesvos, Greece.

Directed by:
NAZANIN FOROGHI
YASER AKBARI

Production Mentor:
DOUGLAS HERMAN

Executive Producer:
SONIA NANDZIK-HERMAN
DOUGLAS HERMAN

A ReFOCUS Media Labs production

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ReFOCUS Media Lab is a film school in Europe's infamous refugee camp: Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos. Here, young refugees have been learning to express their view of the world in pictures since 2018. Direct and unadulterated photos and films are created from a very personal perspective.

directed by:
KATJA RIEMANN

Cinematography and Editing by:
MICHELE GENTILE

Sound Design by”
ZORA BUTZKE

Executive Producers:
ALIX FRANCOIS MEIER

An Apollo Films production
for ARTE France/Germany

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In the late hours of 8 September 2020, large fires broke out at the migrant camp of Moria in Lesvos, Greece, displacing thousands of people and reducing the epicentre of the EU’s carceral archipelago to ashes.

Commissioned by lawyers representing the #Moria6 (six Afghan boys convicted of arson) Forensic Architecture and Forensis worked in collaboration with ReFOCUS Media Labs to map how the fire developed and to interrogate the testimony of the key witness in advance of the appeal trial scheduled for March 2023.

executive producers:
FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE
FORENSIS
ReFOCUS Media Labs

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An interactive multimedia exhibition of photography, film, audio, VR/360, and reportage- the installation provides an insider’s perspective and conveys an immediate sense of what it means to be a refugee living within the borders of Europe.

curated by:
DOUGLAS HERMAN
ANNA RAMSKOGLER-WITT

produced by:
ReFOCUS Media Labs

intl film festivals:
HUMAN RIGHTS FF BERLIN (DE)

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On the border of Turkey and Iran, 19-year-old twins Zahra and Fatimah from Afghanistan lose their family. To survive in a hostile world of smugglers and drug dealers, they face choices and dilemmas that severely test their symbiotic relationship and conscience.

featuring ReFOCUS Alumni
NAHID REZAIE
MALIHEH REZAIE
SINA NAZARI

directed by
MIJKE DE JONG

executive producers
BALDR FILMS
SEPTEMBER FILMS

A collaborative documentary filmed by refugees in camps spread throughout distant corners of the world - from Africa and the Middle East to Asia and Europe - these filmmakers take control of how their stories are told.

directed by:
MICHAEL BEETS

contributing cinematography:
ReFOCUS Media Labs
YASER AKBARI
MILAD EBRAHIMI
MUSTAFA NADRI

produced by:
CHRISTIAN PAZZAGLIA

When filmmaker Ahmad comes under threat by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he leaves his family behind for survival, without saying good bye, and ends up in Moria- Europe's worst refugee detention camp on the Greek island of Lesvos. Not knowing how many years it will take, Ahmad picks up a camera and documents his journey and story.

directed by
AHMAD EBRAHIMI
JAWAD MIR

cinematography by
AHMAD EBRAHIMI
JAWAD MIR
DOUGLAS HERMAN

Executive Producers
SKY BLUE PRODUCTIONS

In September 2020, Moria, the largest refugee camp in Europe, burned down on the Greek Island of Lesbos, displacing thousands of people. In the ashes and rubble that remain, a group of refugees is trying to survive by scavenging for metal.

directed by:
MICHAEL GRAVERSEN
FLORIAN ALABDI

contributing cinematography:
ReFOCUS Media Labs
MILAD EBRAHIMI
YASER AKBARI
MUSTAFA NADRI

executive producers:
HOUSE OF REAL
THE GUARDIAN

Allianz Risktakers Fellowship Film

First in a series of films profiling courage in action, Sonia i Douglas and their ReFOCUS Media Labs students defy the odds by creating a film school in Moria- Europe’s most infamous refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos.

directed by.
MURAT UTKU

produced by:
ÇİĞDEM MATER

ReFOCUSxAthens

An Afghan family struggling to secure asylum in Greece has tried several times to go to Germany illegally by plane.

If a family secret is revealed their asylum case will be rejected, and they may be deported back to Afghanistan.

directed by:
AHMAD EBRAHIMI

ReFOCUSxBerlin

A harrowing story based on the real-life struggles of young Afghan boys who are sold into the illegal, yet tolerated, “Bacha Bazi” sexual slavery trade.

The film is the directorial debut of our alumni Yaser Taheri, and premiered at Movies That Matter festival (Hague, NL)

directed by:
YASER TAHERI

ReFOCUSxAthens

"Gharebe Ashena" - A visual poem about the experience of being displaced from home in Iran, and seeking safety and a new life in Europe.

directed by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH
ELI FAZLOLLAH

Cinematography by:
AMIR FARHADI
ELI FAZLOLLAH

editing by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH

ReFOCUSxAthens

Helma, an exploited Afghan refugee in Athens, struggles to follow her own path while working to get her mother and younger siblings out of Greece by any means necessary.

Based off real experiences from within our community, the film also serves as a composite experience, all too common for most refugees struggling to find security and opportunity in Greece.

directed by:
ZAHRA GARDI

ReFOCUSxKrakow

ReFOCUSxKrakow

ReFOCUSxBerlin

Trapped under the suffocating rule of the Taliban and hidden beneath a burqa, a determined young woman turns her pen into a weapon of rebellion, risking everything to ignite a powerful revolution against her oppressors.

directed by:
YASER TAHERI

RMLxAthens

A 26-year-old man drowning in grief, has lost everything—his job, his love, and his will to live. Isolated in his darkened apartment, he is tormented by his subconscious, manifested as "Tiger Man", a half-man, half-beast who mocks his suffering and urges him toward suicide.

A dark comedy reflecting on all the small reasons to live, despite all internal and external motivations to the contrary.

directed by:
RASHEED GHALLI

featuring music and lyrics by:
MOHAMAD HUSSEIN

directed by:
NAZANIN FOROGHI

director of photography:
YASER AKBARI

edited by:
NAZANIN FOROGHI

post-production mentor:
DAVIDE MARCHESI

executive producer:
SONIA NANDZIK-HERMAN
DOUGLAS HERMAN

a ReFOCUS Media Labs Production

featuring music and lyrics by
ZEKAN ASKALARI

directed by:
YASER AKBARI

production mentor:
SAMPO LÜTTGE

drone footage by:
HAMZA YAKUPOGLU

edited by:
YASER AKBARI

post-production mentor:
LEAH RUSTOMJEE

set design mentor:
JENNIFER SANDBERG

executive producer:
SONIA NANDZIK-HERMAN
DOUGLAS HERMAN

LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND
MAKERSPACE, LESVOS

beats by:
KHRONOS BEATS

A ReFOCUS Media Labs production

featuring music by
KOKOWUMBA & FRIENDS

filmed by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH
ELI FAZLOLLAH
DAWOUD NOURI
ALI JAFARI
DARIA STEPANOVA

AORA HELMZADEH
JAIME MORO SAAVEDRA
JOËLLE HÜBSCHER
PAUL “AL” SIMO

edited by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH

executive producers:
SONIA NANDZIK-HERMAN
DOUGLAS HERMAN

A ReFOCUS Media Labs production

featuring music and lyrics by:
EHAAM BAND

"Gharebe Ashena" - A visual poem about the experience of being displaced from home in Iran, and seeking safety and a new life in Europe.

directed by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH
ELI FAZLOLLAH

Choreography and Performance:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH

Cinematography:
AMIR FARHANI
ELI FAZLOLLAH

Costume Design:
MASOUMEH HOSEINI

editing by:
SUDE FAZLOLLAH

backstage:
SAYNA GHARACHORLOO

a ReFOCUS Media Labs Production

featuring music and lyrics by:
EYOB MAMUYE SHANKUTE

production:
ZEWDU SOLOMON
HABTAMU GETE
KAMIL BLISA
RAHEL

teaching artists:
NAZANIN FOROGHI
YASER AKBARI

production mentor:
BART VAN SON

music partner:
HABIBI WORKS
STORYTELLERS LAB

a ReFOCUS Media Labs Production

featuring music and lyrics by:
AMOBE

production:
ZEWDU SOLOMON
HABTAMU GETE
KAMIL BLISA
RAHEL

teaching artists:
NAZANIN FOROGHI
YASER AKBARI

production mentor:
BART VAN SON

music partner:
HABIBI WORKS
STORYTELLERS LAB

a ReFOCUS Media Labs Production